“The zero-degree parallel of latitude is fixed by the laws of nature, while the zero-degree meridian of longitude shifts like the sands of time.” — Dava Sobel Copy Share Image
“[John] Harrison [could not] express himself clearly in writing… No matter how brilliantly ideas formed in his mind, or crystallized in his clockworks, his… — Dava Sobel Copy Share Image
“With his marine clocks, John Harrison tested the waters of space-time. He succeeded, against all odds, in using the fourth—temporal—dimension to link points on… — Dava Sobel Copy Share Image
Earlier maps had underestimated the distances to other continents and exaggerated the outlines of individual nations. Now global dimensions could be set, with authority, by the celestial spheres. Indeed, King Louis XIV of France, confronted with a revised map of his domain based on accurate longitude measurements, reportedly complained that he was losing more territory to his astronomers than to… — Dava Sobel Copy Share
“He wrested the world's whereabouts from the stars, and locked the secret in a pocket watch.” — Dava Sobel Copy Share Image
“Any clock that can track this sideral schedule proves itself as perfect as God's magnificent clockwork. Dava Sobel” — Dava Sobel Copy Share Image
“the beaches. In literally hundreds of instances, a vessel’s ignorance of her longitude led swiftly to her destruction. Launched on a mix of bravery… — Dava Sobel Copy Share Image
“Time is to clock as mind is to brain. The clock or watch somehow contains the time. And yet time refuses to be bottled… — Dava Sobel Copy Share Image
“And by this experience his knowledge was reduced to diffidence, so that when asked how sounds were created he used to answer tolerantly that… — Dava Sobel Copy Share Image
And since time sets its own tempo, like a heartbeat or an ebb tide, timepieces don't really keep time. They just keep up with… — Dava Sobel Copy Share Image
“As earnestly as men may seek to understand the workings of the universe, they must remember that God is not hampered by their limited… — Dava Sobel Copy Share Image
“There was only one trial of Galileo, and yet it seems there were a thousand—the suppression of science by religion, the defense of individualism… — Dava Sobel Copy Share Image
“To have done work which is widely recognized, to have gained the sincere esteem of many and the real love of even a few,… — Dava Sobel Copy Share Image
![“[John] Harrison [could not] express himself clearly in writing… No matter how brilliantly ideas formed in his mind, or crystallized in his clockworks, his verbal descriptions failed to shine with the same light… The first sentence [of his last published work] runs on, virtually unpunctuated, for…” quote by Dava Sobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/43f/dava-sobel-29490_writing_john-harrison-could-not-express-himself_340218.jpg)
